Getting not Giving

 

When I was younger, I was convinced that becoming a Christian would make my life dull and boring, that there would be so much to give up that it wouldn’t be worth it.

Many people continue to think that following Jesus is about what you have to give up – not what you will receive; about having your own personality taken from you.
There seems to be a similar attitude to Jesus by the evil spirit in this account.  He meets with Jesus, and is immediately worried that he will be destroyed.
Well the spirit might be about to be destroyed, because it is not good for the man, but the man certainly isn’t going to be destroyed, he is going to be released.

Jesus comes not to destroy, but to free.

Perhaps the man had come to see his whole identity by what bound him and held him; perhaps he was frightened to let go; maybe he was worried by what might replace it if he did – but Jesus reassures him, that whatever he loses in his encounter with Jesus will make his life better not worse.
How about us?
Are there things we cling on to that are effecting our lives, that would be better handed over to God?
He will take them and deal with them. Our lives won’t be diminished, but opened up to all God has to give us.

Thank you lord
that you seek only for us to have fullness of life.
Thank you that you take the bad things from us
and replace them with good.
Forgive me
when I try to cling on
to things which I am better without.
Today,
now,
I hand them to you.

What really matters

Sometimes something pulls you up short.
Someone questions something you’ve always done.

In our current household where I can do very little, Mr Pamsperambulation is having to ask lots of questions about everyday household chores. But as well as asking how, I’m getting the occasional

why?

And I’m having to think through the rationale of my usual actions.

Something similar was occurring in the early church. Everything was new.  They were having to think through the how and the why of what they did, how they behaved – and it was causing some tricky situations and decisions.

Some were happy to eat meat that had previously been offered to idols. They believed idols were of no consequence, and so it didn’t matter – the meat was fine.  Others found this more difficult and couldn’t reconcile that it would be ok for a Christian to have anything to do with something that had been already offered to an idol. It didn’t sit right with them, and made them uncomfortable.

So Paul gives them some good advice – it’s not just how your actions make you feel that matters, but as important is how they effect those around you.  And the guiding factor always should be love.

I wonder how after we think about how the things we do effect others; things that we take for granted that may disturb others? Do we ever consider it, or are we just getting on with our own lives?

We have a responsibility in how our lives effect others. Our actions should never lead others astray, even if we are comfortable. What really matters is others and helping them to live as God requires them.

• How does my lifestyle effect others – for good or bad

•   How can I help others to find their way?

I thank you Lord,

for all those that have helped me,

who have supported me,

as I have worked out your way in my life.

May I always be considerate,

and look first to love,

not what I am convinced is right;

that your ways

may be our ways

Speaking my Language

 

You’ve got to love the instruction books that come with new products. When you pull it out of the box you think the item must be incredibly complex if that’s the thickness of the instructions! But on closer inspection you realise it’s not the length of the instructions making them so big, but the fact they’re printed in various different languages.
And so begins the desperate hunt for one you recognise and can understand – that we may get the most from the product.

The people are about to enter the new land. A land full of strange practices, far from God’s ways. They are going to need to know how to live. God promises instructions.

As they have crossed the desert, they have been afraid when God has spoken to them directly, even as he has led them in the pillar of fire. They don’t want to encounter him again in that way – a choice God saw as a good one!

So what God promises to do is send them someone from among their own people; someone who would speak their language; someone who would interpret Gods ways to them in a way they could understand.

We, understand that ultimately to be Jesus – Gods son, but born as a human being to interpret Gods ways in human language. Born as a human to give us a full understanding of how we are meant to live.  Not just telling, but showing.

But it also gives us a challenge:

•   How do we live, so as to interpret Gods ways in a way that people if our time and place get?

• How do we continue to let Jesus shine through as the ultimate expression of all god has to show us?

Thank you Lord

that you want your ways to be understood,

that you do not leave us to flounder,

but speak to us in ways we can understand,

and show us your ways lived out in the life of Jesus.

I pray

that you may help me

to live out your life

in ways that make sense

to those around me,

and that I may learn from others

who live your ways too.